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Cultivating Courage

*Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

The beginning of any new year brings a flurry of activities; everyone’s primed for change, energy levels are high and hopes and expectations are even higher. But every year I see the same slump start to happen around February 1st – for me included! And the weariness seems to peak around Valentine’s Day. It follows what is usually several weeks of full-speed-ahead endless possibilities thinking and actions. But the fatigue from this causes resolutions to fall by the wayside as we realize that there is more to achieving them than an abundance of enthusiasm fueled by renewed hope that somehow miraculously the turning of the calendar will cause this year to be more remarkable than the last. The eagerness wears off as life wears us down and the realization sinks in that it’s going to take not just hard work but dedication, determination and courage.

Courage is often left out of the equation when we’re dreaming up our new plans for the year ahead. We turn first to hard work, motivation, pushing more, doing more in hopes of being and having more. But sooner or later we hit the proverbial brick wall. We often call it procrastination or take it to mean that just one more time we are not good enough. We use this as an excuse to beat ourselves up for not being more active, focused or just generally a better person. But what if all it took was a little bit of courage?

Courage can mean a single brave step; tippy-toeing into the unknown, venturing into that place we’ve never been before. As children, we don’t have much of a problem with this. Everything is unknown, and our curiosity trumps fear more often than not. But over the years we store memories of consequences; unfavorable investments, a heart broken, a painful relationship or incidents of embarrassment and shame. This stockpile of misery feeds our insecurity and we cautiously close the window where new and wonderful use to stream in.

So what would be possible in your life this year if you were to act with just a little bit of courage? Would you be able to stick to those resolutions? Visit that new place? Build the new house? Create that dream? To help you take that first brave step, I’ve made a list below. Pick what speaks to you the most, scares you the most, the one thing you need the most or maybe just what you can really do right now. It’s just one step. Go ahead… you can do it. I’m here and I’m rooting for you!

Acknowledge Yourself

Start a blog

Smile at a stranger

Set a boundary

Make the call

Use your voice

Say Yes. Yes! YES!

Say No. And mean it. No.

Invite Someone

Take a LEAP

Look at the numbers

Ask for help

Sign Up for Something

Take that First Step

Be Outrageously Playful

Be Outrageously Kind

Give Someone a Compliment

Acknowledge Yourself Again… and Again… and Again

Go on a date

Tell someone how much they mean to you

Say goodbye if you need to

Face It

Write the Email

Write the Book

Commit to the project

Commit to the person

Throw a party!

Surprise a friend

Move

Stay

Sell it all

Buy that one thing…

Savor the silence

Love out loud!

Try something new together

Explore something new alone

Just Decide.

So what is your BIG BRAVE STEP ? Share it below. Tweet it. Snap it. Or take a pic and throw it on Instagram. And feel free to tag me. Let me know. Let the world know! You just might give someone else the courage to take that brave step of their own.

xo

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